Over twenty years ago, the Kogi people predicted what we now call global climate change. Today, their message is the same.

Promo: A message from the Kogi

Indigenous groups are often given two choices: to stay in the rainforest or leave to enter "modernity." That was the case with Wuta in the Surinamese rainforest as Dr. Mark J. Plotkin recalls. 

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Promo: Wuta moves to the city

Many indigenous groups in the Amazon struggle to encourage young people to adopt traditional culture and learn about their ancestor’s stories. As a result, a group can lose its entire archive of stories within a few generations.

Yaucumá Waruá from the Waurá tribe in the Brazilian Amazon worries about this happening in his community.


Promo: A Waurá's desire to preserve cultural memory

Maps, Magic, and Medicine explores the importance of indigenous cultural knowledge to protect the environment. But what do we mean by  "Maps, Magic, and Medicine?"

Promo: What's Maps, Magic, and Medicine?

Over 20 years ago, the conservation world was changing. An unexpected event showed Liliana Madrigal a different way forward that puts people first. On this episode, we talk to Liliana Madrigal, Adrian Forsyth, and Raquel Gomez about the challenges and successes of this new approach

Episode 1: People First

Granman Valentine of the Matawai talks about the importance of mapping traditional culture for his community members in Suriname and abroad.

Promo: Mapping traditional culture for the Matawai

When Mark Plotkin went down to Suriname, he wanted to study how indigenous peoples use plants. But when he saw his indigenous friend Wuta leave his home in search of a better life in the city, he realized that indigenous knowledge was disappearing faster than anything in the forest. 

Episode 2: Explorers Turned Apprentices

Taita Luciano, a traditional healer from the Colombian Amazon, reflects on the importance of the traditional medicine yagé or ayahuasca for the environment and how the misuse of yagé affects indigenous communities.

An Element of the Environment (Special Episode)

Taita Luciano, un medico tradicional de la cultura Inga, habla sobre la importancia del yagé para el medio ambiente y como su mal uso afecta a las comunidades indígenas.

Un Elemento Ambiental (Episodio Especial)

Suriname is the only country in the Western hemisphere that does not recognize the land rights of indigenous groups. Yet, development projects, loggers, and miners have legal contracts allowing them to work on traditional lands. On this episode, we'll hear how indigenous groups are using maps to reclaim their territory.

Episode 3: Knowledge on the Map

Julian Lennon, musician, photographer, and founder of the White Feather Foundation hosts this special episode about the Kogi indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Kogi community members discuss the importance of water, sacred sites, and their ancestral territory, while Julian Lennon reflects on his visit to Kogi sacred sites and the lessons it imparted.

Special Episode with Julian Lennon: Listen Younger Brother

Deep in the Amazon, there are groups that have made the decision to isolate themselves from the outside world. These isolated or uncontacted groups live under constant threat of incursion from mining, development, and illegal activity. On the final episode of this series, we'll explore the reason why these groups fled into the rainforest, how to protect isolated groups without contacting them, and the late Colombian historian who proved the existence of isolated groups in Colombia.

Episode 4: Knowledge for Protection: safeguarding isolated indigenous tribes

Maps, Magic, and Medicine explores the importance of indigenous knowledge to protect the environment. Each month we bring you stories about the spiritual, the unexplained, and the unbelievable.

To create innovative strategies that address global climate change, poverty, and land rights, we must understand the interconnectedness of humans and the environment. These stories are the first way to reimagine our relationship to the natural world.

Maps, Magic, and Medicine draws on the stories and experiences of the Amazon Conservation Team's past 20 years of work. Subscribe to Maps, Magic, and Medicine on iTunes to continue listening to the stories of making contact and making change in the Amazon Rainforest. You can also engage on our website mapsmagicmedicine.com

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